Because the Greenskin invasion of Piña was deep inland, their pirate allies did not participate.
In the Great Warboss's view, the pirates were more useful for maintaining naval supremacy against the Northerners, so he didn't demand they send troops.
In Gorkamorka's calculations, utilizing nearly a quarter of his military strength should be enough to crush the forest Beastmen.
To be safe, he even sent three of the nine Rogue Idols intended for northern sieges into the forest.
They performed brilliantly on the first day, nearly shattering the Beastman defense instantly.
If Al hadn't stationed half of his spellcasters at the Sacred Grove—leading the Shamans to destroy one and damage another—his defensive plan would have been aborted on day one.
It was said that Al was shouting curses like "Motherfucker!" and "Cyka Blyat!" and "No sportsmanship!" while monitoring the battle.
For a moment, Al felt like a certain Great Father [Stalin] before June '42. He was prepared and had a plan, but the "Greenskin" offensive was so fast and fierce that the first wave nearly wiped him out.
Fortunately, things had stabilized for now.
The exchange ratio was barely passable. A quarter of the eight thousand defenders were heavily wounded or dead, and almost everyone else was injured.
However, the Greenskins had left behind nearly double that number of corpses on the first day alone.
It was a suicidal, reckless assault. As reinforcements arrived and the line was pushed back to the walls, the ratio began to tilt in the tribe's favor.
Due to the terrain, the Greenskin scrap-lobbers were severely restricted in the forest.
They had marched in a hurry and brought few of them; most Greenskin ordnance remained at Magus for the northern march.
The besieging Greenskins had to resort to felling trees and, through the power of "I fink," creating siege engines that looked like trash to human eyes but were surprisingly functional.
Then there were the traditional catapults—specifically, the Doom Diver Catapults.
They were a significant threat but limited in utility. Even with human puppet help, the Greenskins couldn't build enough machines in time.
Similarly, the tribe's defensive engines were insufficient.
However, Al had concentrated a massive number of bows and crossbows at the Sacred Grove.
In a siege, you don't need great aim; as long as you have the strength to fire the arrow, it's enough. If you miss once, fire again; some unlucky bastard will eventually run into a bolt.
Tank Bone-Club, the commander of the Piña invasion and the Warlord's right-hand man, now felt nothing but hatred for this small, stubborn fortress blocking their path.
From nearly breaking it on day one to the tribe's desperate defense and the constant arrival of reinforcements.
Several times, Tank wanted to just throw his entire army forward and bury the small city under a mountain of bodies.
But out of absolute, unreserved loyalty to the Great Warboss, it restrained that impulse. Instead, it followed protocol:
Requesting military instructions from Great Warboss Gorkamorka Wyvern.
Its loyalty was so absolute that it sought the Warlord's deployment orders for every major matter.
Because of Gorkamorka's unique way of thinking and his rising fame, the Greenskins under him were starting to emulate him, using their brains slightly more than typical Orcs.
Though it was only a slight improvement, it was a terrifyingly significant advancement.
As many researchers of Trolls concluded: if such monsters ever gained brains, there would be no room for other mortal races to rule the world.
The siege continued, but Tank—having received instructions via a Wyvern air-drop—did not intend to just waste lives to take the citadel.
A better way had arrived.
In this Great WAAAAAGH!, there were three factions on the Greenskin side.
Greenskins, Pirates, and...
The Skaven!
Several rats wearing goggles, their hunched bodies adorned with metal and mechanical contraptions, stood before the General. They barely reached Tank's knees.
The lead rat had three extra mechanical limbs implanted, utilizing Warpstone technology and Clan Moulder flesh-crafting.
Draped in a cloak, its body was much larger than an average Skaven, and its movements were accompanied by the screech of metal and the hiss of steam.
A swarm of foul-smelling Slave Rats, whose mere appearance caused deep discomfort, were struggling to push their evil, unholy Skaven inventions.
They moved the massive devices to the designated spot and began assembly under the engineers' supervision.
Al had never forgotten the Skaven threat. But after the knights reported destroying an Undercity, and with the vermin having vanished into the shadows for so long,
Al had subconsciously stopped considering a third party's involvement in this forest battle.
After all, the rats were just too low-profile...
At this moment, Al was still calculating the strength of both sides, planning the blitzkrieg with his advisors.
He wanted to decapitate the enemy and shatter their morale as quickly as possible.
He was waiting for the Greenskins to suffer enough losses and lose their patience.
But the enemy would not follow his script.
"Sk-Skaven technology, yes-yes!"
The Warlock Engineer—his body enhanced by both Warpstone tech and flesh-crafting—spoke to the Greenskin General.
Tank stood among his guards, watching as his vermin allies finished setting up an inconspicuous, complex-looking altar.
"We been smashin' for ages and ain't cracked the beast-things' shell. These runts gonna do it just like that?" Tank's deputy muttered, clearly doubting the Skaven power.
"Beast-things are tough though, harder'n pink stunties, almost like real stunties! We just ain't got enough Big 'Uns and Trolls, or they'd be juice by now!"
Greenskins didn't much like Skaven. The rats had numbers, so they were fun to chop, but they were too cunning and treacherous.
Like Goblins, they were generally looked down upon by the Orcs.
Amidst the Greenskins' trash-talking, the Warlock Engineer waved a hand and personally climbed atop the "altar."
After performing a bizarre ritual, it activated the mechanisms in the launch pad, then hopped down and ran to the rear.
It left the job of ignition to a professionally trained Clanrat.
"Banzai for the Great Horned Rat!"
The Clanrat responsible for igniting the Warp-fuel—the most dangerous step—raised its claws and let out a fanatical scream.
Immediately, it was reduced to a charred corpse by the crackling Warp-lightning around the base, collapsing to the ground.
A bright, unholy, and ominous green light erupted!
The Skaven and their Greenskin allies stood far back, watching excitedly.
The foul green lightning symbolized another Skaven victory! It symbolized the vengeful fire of the children of the Great Horned Rat!
Immense power gathered at the base of the Doomrocket. The Warp-fuel was ignited.
Vast energy was about to be converted into thrust, sending the Skaven's great and evil creation into the sky!
Releasing the gospel of destruction from the Great Horned Rat upon the heads of their enemies!